The use of mobile personal communication devices has grown exponentially over the past several years and is ubiquitous at the present time. These devices fulfill very important needs for many people in providing instant communication with others at almost any location throughout the world as well as access to information from the Internet and other sources. The same devices can however also create life-threatening hazards when used in vehicles by the operator of the vehicle in a hand-held mode, as opposed to a “hands free” mode, and when they result in distraction of the operator and in serious accidents. As a result, the majority of states have now outlawed the use of hand-held mobile personal communication devices in by the operators of vehicles and a number of prior art devices have been developed to disable such devices. The available prior art devices may be generally satisfactory but are in many instances complex in design and operation and thus readily disabled or overridden. They may also allow the operator of the vehicle to select a threshold speed below which a mobile communications device may be used while the vehicle is moving, ignoring the fact that there is no safe speed no matter how slow at which to operate said devices in a hand-held mode. Additionally, the available prior art does not allow for the safe and legal operation of these devices in “hands free” mode while operating a moving vehicle by utilizing commonly available Bluetooth connectivity, with which one can make a phone call and talk without taking their eyes and attention off the road, and with which one can text by utilizing commercially available “talk to text” applications.
It is the general object of the present invention to provide a simplified and yet highly positive disabling apparatus for a personal mobile communication device used in a vehicle by the operator of the vehicle in hand-held mode, while allowing the device to be used in a vehicle by the operator of the vehicle in hands-free mode.